Snow White and the Huntsman: The Forest Clearing
by Duchess1985
Summary: Erik the Huntsman had been promised the world if he fetched the young girls heart for the Queen, but the man in him felt pity for her as she was wrestled to the ground by two forest thugs who clearly only had one thing on their mind. Now, he had to make a great decision whether he would help the Princess and guide her to safety or not. NON-CON, H/C


A few more steps and he'd found himself at the edge of a small thicket clearing, housing a pool of fresh water than ran through the overgrown foliage as a small stream not the breadth of his stride. His hasty journey to get this far had been treacherous at best, as he wound his way deeper into the forest navigating the gnarly roots of the old trees that had withstood the tempestuous weather for hundreds of years gone; in fact so unpredictable had the trek been so far he was surprised to see the small waif girl he'd been tracking still alive. Not for long, he surmised to himself as he caught sight of the large brute that restrained her. He held a long dagger to her throat and was encouraging his companion as he unbuckled his britches.

The air was laden with small mites that swarmed together like a dark cloak. The huntsman swatted them away from his face as he squatted on his haunches and scanned the area. Erik surmised that the men were peasants by their dress, unkempt renegades perhaps that found safety in the haunted forest from their captors.

The one restraining her was larger than the other, his outfit stretched tightly across the expanse of his enormous girth. His partner, a lean fellow had messy red hair that fell in braids to the nape of his neck.

Erik could only here small portions of what they men yelled to each other in excitement, but it was enough for his body to tense as he backed away from the scene. He knew he must act, and act quickly if he were to stop this vicious attack but then what? Would he slay her there and then as he had been commissioned to do? Just as she recovers from one assault and looks on him as her rescuer, does he pull his blade and run her through? He cussed under his breath and sunk down to his knees once more, trying to block out the squeals the girl emitted as one man advanced on her while the other held her by the arms. He should have known he could not do it. He had been tempted with the greatest gift of all, the reward of his beautiful wife being brought back to life – and his task was simple, murder the young girl that had escaped into the forest and bring back her bloodied heart as proof the deed had been done. What manner of madness this Queen had inside her head, Erik did not know but he could not refuse such a promise and he set out that very hour.

Very quickly the situation became urgent as she squirmed an arm free of the largest mans grip and in response he slammed a dirty fist into the side of her face to silence her. Erik fixed his fist on the hilt of his axe and rose to his feet. She began to scream as the redhead ripped open the front of her gown and bodice and Erik's stomach seized. Without a moments hesitation as the man buried his head into her, Erik raised his axe in the air and threw it into the redheads back. It hit its target with precision and thrust, the breathless gasp of the man as he was thrown forward by the force of the weapon and began choking.

The larger man scrambled backwards along the bank, his fearful eyes finally locking onto Erik as he tripped over himself in panic. Erik pulled a long coil of rope and wound it around his knuckles, leaping forward to secure the rope around the man's neck and hold him in traction until he stopped squirming. When he felt the man drop lifeless into the mud, Erik stood and only then noticed the struggling a meter away.

The redhead had bled to death quickly from the wound in his back, but had collapsed upon the girl and pinned her down. She flailed underneath the weight of him, trying to pull herself free of his monstrous shape. Erik moved forward and rolled the man off her. Her chest was bare and deep, red blood poured from her nose. She was covered in a wet slick of mud from the riverbank and kept slipping as she tried to stand. Erik plucked his axe from in between the man's shoulder blades and reached for her roughly. As he pulled her easily to her feet she still struggled, albeit uselessly against Erik's strong build.

'Enough!' he demanded, his thick Scottish accent booming out. Under the force of him, she fell again and Erik pulled a small dagger from inside his hide coat. Her eyes widened and she began to cry, beating her free hand against his chest for him to release her. But he held her to him, certain to make this a swift death for her. He clasped her by the shoulders to steady her and pressed the point of the dagger against her pale skin. She raised her chin to move away from the poised weapon at her gullet but still a soft word escaped her lips.

'Please…' it was such a faint whisper that Erik almost convinced himself he had heard nothing. But as he caught sight of her dark green eyes that flowed freely with tears he knew she had indeed begged him to spare her. He retracted the knife a little and pulled her closer to him.

'What does the Queen want with you?' the girl collapsed under the strength of his grasp and he hovered over the top of her, his knife at the ready. 'Answer me!' he demanded.

'You should know… you're the one hunting me!' she spat back. Almost straight away, she fainted, somewhere in between fright and exhaustion. The man in him released her and fell back away from her to his knees.

The clouds overhead darkened and the wind picked up. Erik could smell that rain was close, and a clap of thunder confirmed his theory. He sat for the longest time just watching her, the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed deeply under the safe oblivion of unconsciousness.

The embers had died down and Erik sat reclining on the forest floor watching their glow slowly fade. He heard a low moan and turned his head in time to see the girl slowly sit up. She had been unconscious ever since the attack by the river that afternoon; he had scooped her easily into his arms and continued through the forest with her. He had travelled at least two hours through the dense scrub before he felt they were far enough from the corpses to stop and attempt camp. He had only lit a small fire, feeling certain that if he did not she would die of cold. He had lay her near the flames and searched through his pelt bag for some remnants of food. His hand had found the small flask of whiskey that he carried with him always and after finding a comfortable enough position resting against a log, that is where he stayed.

But now, as she struggled to steady herself he wondered what he would do. What situation had befallen upon him that he had failed to complete a mission that would have secured his wife's reincarnation and would almost certainly have half the kingdoms forces out in search of him? As she noticed him sitting across the fire from her, her body tensed. Erik moved to stoke the fire with his long axe and slumped back again.

'You needn't fear me girl,' he muttered.

'What could have possibly changed between now and this afternoon that you no longer want to harm me?' she dared. He bristled.

'That's the thanks I get for saving your life?' he replied. She swiveled so she faced him straight on, the flame that had been brought back to life danced shadows over her fearful expression.

'You're an expert hunter!' she exclaimed. 'I would have been better off taking my chances with those robbers.'

He exhaled slowly, deciding he should keep a level head. 'You're right princess, I am a hunter – and if I'd wanted you dead you would already be.' He took another swig from his near-empty flask and she scoffed. 'Besides, clearly those robbers saw something worth "looting" and nothing was going to stop them from taking it… probably a number of times,' he added with a smirk. 'You would not have stood a chance.'

'And those, the words of a gentleman?' she replied quickly.

'Are you going to deny that's what they were planning on doing to you?' he leaned forward aggressively. At that moment, a streak of lightning lit up the forest and flashed around them. 'Because from where I stood it looked as though they had almost begun their l…'

'Please?!' she interrupted. 'Please don't say anymore.' Her voice had calmed into a whisper and she shivered suddenly. Erik checked himself and drew back as she wrapped her arms around her waist.

A loud clap of thunder erupted and the girl jumped. Erik reached into his knapsack and pulled out a long woolen cape. It had a few holes but would provide far more warmth than the thin threadbare dress her small frame wore. She took it gratefully as he handed it over the glowing goals and nodded in thanks.

'How… how did you come to call me Princess?' she began, rubbing her eyes wearily.

Erik hesitated, reaching into his bag and retrieving the remainder of food that he had stashed. 'I was commissioned to kill you.' Surprisingly, she didn't react.

'Was?' she replied.

He smiled a little. 'Well you're not dead yet… Princess.'

'I see. What made you… renege on your contract? You must have been offered a great deal to make you venture into the great forest,' he voice was deep but still housed a slight tremble that Erik couldn't tell if its cause was fear or cold.

'Yes, I was offered… something priceless to me,' he lowered his gaze as he spared one moment's thought to his dead wife. 'Such an offer that I came to doubt it could ever have be paid to me.'

He handed a small leather envelope across to her. 'It's some food, dry wheat.' Her pale hand reached out and she retrieved it. It was then that he saw the abrasions on her wrists. Identical marks on both arms, extending the entire circumference of her small wrists. She noticed him looking and pulled away, attempting to hide her arms.

'Irons?' he surmised. Heavens, this girl must have been shackled for weeks on end for that amount of damage to be done?

Suddenly, Erik found himself feeling sorry for the girl. She was younger than him, by at least three years and seemed less experienced in the world that any he had encountered of her age. He had been told she was a Princess but she could not have looked further from that tonight; sitting across the darkness from him with a bruise covering most of the right side of her face. Her hair was long and black, just as had been described to him, and even in the darkness he could still easily see the shape of her large green eyes and blood red lips. But he saw nothing that led him to believe she was danger enough to the Queen Ravena that she needed to be exterminated. He could scarcely believe this thin waif of a girl would make it into the following day let alone have done something to threaten the kingdom. She locked eyes with him once more, as though asking for permission, before sinking down to the ground again and closing her eyes slowly. He reached forward and rested his heavy axe across his lap, readying himself for a night on sentry. Glancing at her once more before adjusting his gaze elsewhere, he found himself hoping she slept peacefully.


End file.
